Wikipedia

PDP-11: Difference between revisions

Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Copy edit. I am not one of those people who assert that a wel-formed sentence cannot ever begin with a conjunction, but in this case it is unnecessary and the sentence and paragraph read better without it.
→Decline: the LISA is not the best example of what 68k-based systems did to the minicomputer market
Line 71:
DEC's 32-bit successor to the PDP-11, the [[VAX]] (for "Virtual Address eXtension") overcame the 16-bit limitation, but was initially a [[superminicomputer]] aimed at the high-end [[time-sharing]] market. The early VAX CPUs provided a PDP-11 [[compatibility mode]] under which much existing software could be immediately used, in parallel with newer 32-bit software, but this capability was dropped with the first [[MicroVAX]].
 
For a decade the PDP-11 was the smallest system that could run [[Unix]],<ref name="fiedler198310">{{cite news | url=https://archive.org/stream/byte-magazine-1983-10/1983_10_BYTE_08-10_UNIX#page/n133/mode/2up | title=The Unix Tutorial / Part 3: Unix in the Microcomputer Marketplace | work=BYTE | date=October 1983 | accessdate=30 January 2015 | author=Fiedler, Ryan | pages=132}}</ref> but in the 1980s, the [[IBM Personal Computer|IBM PC]] and its clones largely took over the small computer market; ''[[BYTE]]'' in 1984 reported that the PC's [[Intel 8088]] microprocessor outperformed the PDP-11/23 when running Unix.{{r|hinnant198408}} Newer microprocessors such as the [[Motorola 68000]] (1979) and [[Intel 80386]] (1985) also included 32-bit logical addressing. The 68000 in particular facilitated the emergence of a market of increasingly powerful scientific and technical [[workstation]]s that would often run Unix variants. These included the [[HP 9000]] series 200 (starting with the HP 9826A in 1981) and 300/400, with the [[HP-UX]] system being ported to the 68000 in 1984; [[Sun Microsystems]] workstations running [[SunOS]], starting with customthe hardware[[Sun-1]] thatin provided1982; protected[[Apollo memoryDomain]] workstations starting with the DN100 in 1981 running [[Domain/OS]], which was usedproprietary inbut offered a degree of Unix compatibility; and the [[Silicon Graphics]] [[SGI IRIS|IRIS]] range, which developed into Unix-based workstations by 1985 (IRIS 2000). Personal computers based on the 68000 like the [[Apple Lisa]], aand machine[[Macintosh]] thator wasthe able[[Amiga|Commodore Amiga]] arguably constituted less of a threat to DEC's business, although technically these systems could also run Unix derivatives. In the early years, in particular, [[Microsoft]]'s [[Xenix]] was ported to systems like the [[TRS-80 Model II#model16|TRS-80 Model 16]] (with up to 1 MB of memory) in 19841983, and to the Apple Lisa, with up to 2 MB of installed RAM, in 1984. The mass-production of those chips eliminated any cost advantage for the 16-bit PDP-11. A line of personal computers based on the PDP-11, the [[DEC Professional (computer)|DEC Professional]] series, failed commercially, along with other non-PDP-11 PC offerings from DEC.
 
In 1994 DEC<ref>{{cite web|url=http://groups.google.com/group/biz.digital.announce/tree/browse_frm/month/1994-07?_done=%2Fgroup%2Fbiz.digital.announce%2Fbrowse_frm%2Fmonth%2F1994-07%3F& |title=Press Release re transfer of Operating Systems |publisher=Groups.google.com |date= |accessdate=2014-04-14}}</ref> sold the PDP-11 system-software rights to Mentec Inc., an Irish producer of LSI-11 based boards for Q-Bus and ISA architecture personal computers, and in 1997 discontinued PDP-11 production. For several years, Mentec produced new PDP-11 processors. Other companies found a [[niche market]] for replacements for legacy PDP-11 processors, disk subsystems, etc.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PDP-11"